Farmers Union Carbon Credit Program

Management Guidelines for No-till Crop Production Practice

CROPPING PRACTICES

• Crops must be grown annually

• Pulse crops (i.e., beans, peas, lentils) may be seeded no more than three of five years

• Use of chemical fallow is not permitted

• Crop residue shall not be burned

IMPLEMENTS

Implements acceptable for use include:

· No-till planter/drill

· Subsurface disturbance implements (Note: The vertical slot created by these implements must be closed at the soil surface.)

· Anyhydrous applicator

· Manure knife applicator

· Subsoiler/ripper

· Strip-Till

Implements not acceptable for use include:

· Moldboard plow

· Tandem/Offset disk

· Chisel plow

· Field cultivator

· Row crop cultivator

· Harrow

· Ridge-Till

USDA-NRCS RESIDUE AND TILLAGE MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES (STIR and SCI)

Adherence to the cropping and implement guidelines outlined above should be reflective of management practices resulting in a Soil Tillage Intensity Rating (STIR) of 20 or less and a Soil Conditioning Index (SCI) of 0.3 or greater (USDA-NRCS North Dakota Conservation Practice Standard 329, September 2005).

For further information regarding conservation tillage, contact your local NRCS office.